joining us now for the interview is senator jeff merkley of oregon. he introduced the nda legislation in the current congress and led the effort to pass it in the senate. senator, thank you so much for being with us. nice to have you here. >> you're welcome, rachel. it's great to be with you. >> so, 17 years ago was the last time this nondiscrimination issue was voted on in the senate. it lost by one vote 17 years ago. why are you on a path to pass it in the senate right now, do you think? >> well, the difference now is that that vote 17 years ago, we only needed a simple majority or 50 plus the vice president. we lost 49-50 because one senator was absent. and now we have to get 60 votes. both to close debate to get on the bill. and i should clarify, tonight we just broke the filibuster to get on to the bill. we'll have to break another filibuster to get to a final vote. >> oh, wow. >> so, we have amendments in between. we're not there yet. but i do hope that what happens this week in the senate will provide the momentum that we'll finally as a nation